A good example of what 50K gets you in PHX. (Phoenix: cheap apartment, for rent)

[ibarrio]

price per square foot is $66, needs work, seedy area. Maybe for low income rental but nothing more.

[HarveytheRabbit]

I've been thinking a lot about buying a cheaper property like this purely for the rental income. The way I see it is that everywhere dropped, good areas and bad areas, but the good areas fell less in proportion plus they are starting to get snatched up again, but that there are still many absolute steals out there in the older parts of town that people will look back in ten years and kick themselves for passing on. I think people write these homes off because they can't see themselves living there or that if when they go to re-sell, home buyers will pass by for the newer nicer, cheap areas like queen creek or buckeye. But in a good or bad economy there are always going to be people renting.

I've heard you talk about between the 7's, anything along the light rail and places like south of Northern and north of Missouri ; but are there any other overlooked areas that people tend to write off as dilapidated, but that are actually just older working class homes that will cash flow?

Any other parts of central Phoenix or south Scottsdale, maybe even "bad" areas of Glendale or Mesa that can be recommended?

[ReadyFreddy]

Originally Posted by Home Addict

Would a realtor steer you away from this home? There are plenty of reasons for your RE agent to dissuage you from making an offer on this home.

Why would an agent steer anyone away? All price levels of houses have their buyers. Most buyers know what they're looking for and aren't going to mistake that listing for a $200k home in the burbs or something. That type of house especially attracts knowledgeable buyers. Buy it for $55, put in $25, sell it for $115.

[Howard Roark]

Bars in the window. Meth central. That is what $50,000 gets you. I would not be a slumlord. I would stay up nights worried about walls getting kicked in.

[khuntrevor]

Moderator cut: snip

There are 10s of thousands apartment dwellers, who would rather have that house than their apartment. So would their dogs. 10 minute walk to one of the finest golf courses in the Country.....

[Zippyman]

Originally Posted by khuntrevor

Moderator cut: snip There are 10s of thousands apartment dwellers, who would rather have that house than their apartment. So would their dogs. 10 minute walk to one of the finest golf courses in the Country.....

Someone buying a house like that isn't likely to be a golfer. Compared to the average budget apartment in Phoenix, it's borderline uninhabitable (even cheap apartments here are generally very nice inside). If thats all I could afford, I'd rent.

[ReadyFreddy]

What's uninhabitable about it? It looks like it needs yard work, some floor molding and a new kitchen floor. You'd be surprised what a good cleaning and decorating can do, even to a dated place like that. From an appraisal standpoint, based on the photos, there's certainly nothing uninhabitable there.

[las vegas drunk]

In all honesty, why would anyone want to buy those dumpy houses in a bad area when you can go out to the suburbs and find something 10 times nicer for nearly the same price? Here is a nice newer house in a good neighborhood for $59,900.

12430 W Sweetwater Ave, El Mirage, AZ 85335 MLS# 4696778 - Zillow

[Jkgourmet]

Originally Posted by las vegas drunk

In all honesty, why would anyone want to buy those dumpy houses in a bad area when you can go out to the suburbs and find something 10 times nicer for nearly the same price? Here is a nice newer house in a good neighborhood for $59,900.

12430 W Sweetwater Ave, El Mirage, AZ 85335 MLS# 4696778 - Zillow

Location, Location, Location.

(but I wouldn't touch either one of these properties for a second.)

[ReadyFreddy]

A lot of people don't want a 45 min. commute to downtown. A lot of people like a 1940s home for its historic charm. You guys should go to one of the historic neighborhood's home shows. There are gorgeous, high-end remodels all over in Phx downtown neighborhoods.

They're just two different markets. The El Mirage home costs 20% more, too. (And I don't know that area but doesn't El Mirage get trashed as being seedy, too?)